Furthermore, there is a victory condition tied to collecting all the holocrons in the map and keeping them secured for a while. Effectively placing holocrons in temples generates free nova crystals, one of the game’s four currencies, for the civilization that holds them. All factions are also able to build Jedi and Sith temples that can produce knights and masters who are able to pick up holocrons scattered around the map. Most units and buildings can be upgraded through different stages, often offering synergies between them. For example, Gungans have fambaas with shield generators (as seen in The Phantom Menace), which spice up the faction’s gameplay style quite a bit. These Genie-powered RTS titles were no StarCraft or Warcraft when it came to gameplay variance between factions, but they offered more than enough cosmetic and playable variety.

Much like in the Age of Empires titles, all factions follow a general pattern but have a set number of advantages and disadvantages, as well as some unique units and technologies that are developed over the course of a game. When it first launched in 2001, the game featured six different factions: Galactic Empire, Rebel Alliance, Gungans, Royal Naboo, Trade Federation, and Wookiees. This familiar take on the RTS genre received generally positive reviews and the applause of a fanbase that was thirsting for a solid Star Wars strategy title after the ineffective Force Commander (2000) mirroring Age of Empires yielded results. Gaber, who previously worked on titles such as Shadows of the Empire and Dark Forces II, designed and directed both the base game and its 2002 expansion: Clone Campaigns.

The game would go on to use Ensemble’s famous Genie engine. Age of Empires meets Star Wars, what’s not to like?įollowing the massive success of Age of Empires 1 & 2 back in 19 respectively, LucasArts contacted Ensemble Studios to develop a real-time strategy video game based on the Star Wars saga.

Star wars factions game